12 May 2011

The EBSL 2011 takes off in Bern

Hosts Switzerland, Spain, Italy and newcomers to Division A Turkey will battle in the first stage of the continental league

The 2011 season of the most prestigious European Beach Soccer tournament, the Euro Beach Soccer League, is ready to go with its fourteenth edition as of this late may. The Swiss city of Bern will host the first of the four stages that will lead to the Superfinal in Moscow to decide who the best in the Old Continent is. Europe and all beach soccer fans all over the world get ready for the thrilling summer-long league-format fight to begin this May, 27th-29th, in the stadium settled at the Weyermannshaus.

Together with fast-growing hosts Switzerland, who ended last season in the fourth position, the surprising EBSL 2010 runner ups, Italy, will take part in this opening top European play, together with Spain. Turkey, making their debut in the top-flight division after bending France in the Promotional final held last August in Lisbon, will be the fourth team to jump onto the Weyermannshaus Beach Stadium looking for the points.

As usual, the EBSL stage will consist of two different competitions in one: the Division A fixtures and the Division B, although the teams participating in that last segment have not been confirmed yet.

The match schedule for this Euro Beach Soccer League – Bern 2011 goes as follows:

Friday 27th

14.30 – Division B fixture - TBC

15.45 – Spain vs. Italy

17.00 – Switzerland vs. Turkey

Saturday 28th

14.30 – Division B fixture - TBC

15.45 – Italy vs. Turkey

17.00 – Switzerland vs. Spain

Sunday 29th

14.30 – Division B fixture - TBC

15.45 – Spain vs. Turkey

17.00 – Italy vs. Switzerland

The EBSL format

The EBSL 2011 is divided into two separate divisions, Division A and Division B. Division A consists of the 8 top teams in Europe based on the BSWW European Ranking. Division B consists of the lower ranked teams and new entries to the competition. Each division has its own regulations and competition format.

In each EBSL venue there are four teams competing in the Division A pool and three in the Division B pool, facing each other in the round-robin format. Each team competes in two preliminary events to see their points obtained accumulated into an overall ranking that will determine the teams that qualify for the Superfinal in Moscow (August).